Jesse Winker, J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez have all been suspended for their part in the Mariners’ brawl with the Angels, but will appeal the decisions.
On Monday, Major League Baseball handed out 12 suspensions as an expected result of Sunday’s brawl between the Mariners and Angels. For Seattle specifically, this included Jesse Winker (seven games), J.P. Crawford (five) and Julio Rodriguez (two).
All three Mariners players will appeal their decisions, meaning they can still play in the meantime. Pending the respective outcomes, players cannot be replaced on the active roster for on-field rule violations.
Worst case scenario, at least Seattle will be allowed to stagger the bans, i.e. all three players will not have to serve their suspensions at the same time. This is important for a Mariners roster currently missing key players through injury including Ty France, Mitch Haniger and Kyle Lewis.
Of the three Mariners suspensions, the one for Rodriguez seems to be the most baffling. Speaking to members of the media he said:
“I didn’t throw any punches. I was trying to pull people out of there. I still don’t know why I was ejected.”
In respect of Winker, his reaction was understandable after being hitting by pitch from Andrew Wantz in the second inning and exchanging words. However, it wasn’t a good look after umpires John Bacon and Adrian Johnson unsuccessfully attempted to restrain the left fielder, who broke free and charged towards the Angels’ Anthony Rendon and leading to the brawl.
Winker was already upset prior to being hit by Wantz, due to the Angels pitcher throwing behind Rodriguez’s head in the first inning. Wantz was only hit with a warning at the time, when there was an argument he should have been ejected then, which could have avoided what happened in the following inning.
Further, Wantz wasn’t ejected right away after hitting Winker with a pitch in the second inning. Again, if the umpires had taken immediate action — more than justified after what happened in the top of the first — the subsequent brawl might have been avoided.
From the Angels’ perspective, they would contend the trouble started the night before, when Mike Trout managed to avoid an errant fastball from Mariners reliever Erik Swanson. However, for Los Angeles to believe this was intentional is incorrect.
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It made no sense for the Mariners to intentionally target Trout in the ninth inning of a tight game, which they ultimately won 5-3. In addition, Swanson had been struggling with command throughout his entire outing on Saturday.
Regardless, the Angels decided it was intentional and Trout complained to the media afterwards. The following day Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin replaced scheduled starter Jose Suarez with Wantz, which should have been an indication they had a perceived payback in mind.
An unfortunate outcome of the brawl was a shoulder injury to Mariners catcher Luis Torrens. As a result, he was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday.
Mariners manager Scott Servais had some visible bruising when speaking to the media on Monday. He avoided any disciplinary action though, unlike Nevin, who was hit with a 10-game suspension.
Servais accepted that suspensions were inevitable and doesn’t agree with what happened, especially given how it will impact his ball club. Speaking to the media, he said:
“(Brawling is) not something that should be a part of Major League Baseball. It’ll hurt, because the players involved play a lot for us and they do a really good job. Anytime you lose a key guy, it hurts in the lineup.
“… It’s part of the game that I’m not very proud of, quite frankly. We should be better than this. I know people like to see it, but this isn’t hockey. It’s uncalled for.”
So far this season, the Mariners are 3-4 versus the Angeles. The two ball clubs are next scheduled to meet in Seattle for a four-game series, starting on Aug. 5.
What is your take on the Mariners’ suspensions specifically; fair or unfair and why? Further, what is your opinion of the brawl in general? Let us know in the comments section below.
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